3 on 'Big Bang' to get $1 million an episode

Wednesday

Aug 6, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Emily Steel THE NEW YORK TIMES

Three stars of the hit television comedy "The Big Bang Theory" got the big payday they were waiting for, agreeing to new three-year contracts with Warner Bros. Television worth about $1 million per episode for each actor, people familiar with the deal said Tuesday.

Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, who negotiated jointly, renewed their contracts for an additional 72 episodes, according to the people with knowledge of the outcome, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the negotiations were private. The new agreement will take the series through its 10th season. "Big Bang" produces 24 episodes a season.

The deals include other perks like a larger stake in the series and ownership of the show after its original run on network television. The agreements were first reported by the Hollywood trade media.

The deals catapult the stars into the salary stratosphere of the actors on "Friends," whose cast members each made $1 million per episode in agreements with Warner Bros. in 2002. (Adjusted for inflation, the stars of "The Big Bang Theory" would need to make about $1.3 million today to match the paychecks of the "Friends" cast.)

Production for the eighth season, which had been delayed, may begin as soon as Wednesday, depending on negotiations with two original cast members, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, one person said.

While stars of hit shows typically hold the leverage in talent negotiations and most generally get paid what they seek, it had not been clear whether that would be the case this time.

The deal underscores the importance of megahits amid the fragmentation of the entertainment media, especially in the comedy, where breakout television hits are harder to come by.

"The Big Bang Theory," which made its debut in 2007, is by far television's biggest comedy, topping others for total viewers since the 2010-11 season. In the latest season, its episodes drew an average of 17.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen data.

The show will play a vital role in the CBS lineup this fall, where it is to appear on two separate nights in the hope of drawing viewers to two other comedies, "Mom" and "The Millers."

In addition to its run on CBS, the show is hugely popular in syndication, where it airs on Time Warner's TBS. It ranks as the top sitcom in syndication, drawing an average of 9 million viewers per episode, according to Nielsen.